NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 08: Coby White #0 of the Chicago Bulls handles the ball on offense against the Brooklyn Nets in the second half at Barclays Center on March 08, 2020 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
The Chicago Bulls have ruled out guard Coby White for four months after undergoing left shoulder surgery on Thursday.
The Chicago Bulls are set to enter an important offseason after they narrowly missed out on a spot in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. While the team is expected to be in the market for a point guard this summer, they received some bad news in regards to one of their current point-men.
On Thursday, the Bulls announced that Coby White underwent surgery on his left shoulder, stemming from an injury suffered while participating in basketball activities away from the team. White will be re-evaluated by the Bulls in four months.
Bulls: Coby White to be re-evaluated in four months following shoulder surgery
Based off this timeline, the Bulls will provide an official update on White’s shoulder following re-evaluation in October. If that is the case, White may very well miss some time at the start of the 2021-22 season.
The Bulls selected White with the seventh-overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of North Carolina. White showed promise during his rookie season, where he set an NBA record for becoming the first rookie to score 30 points off the bench in consecutive games. In his second campaign, White played all but three games, and had the typical ups-and-downs as any player has in their sophomore year.
Through 69 games, White averaged 15.1 points, 4.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 41.6-percent from the field and 35.9-percent from the 3-point line.
With White slated to be sidelined at the start of next season, you can expect that the Bulls will explore adding a point guard this offseason. Luckily for them, there are plenty of point-men slated to become unrestricted free agents, such as Kyle Lowry, Dennis Schroder and Mike Conley Jr. The Bulls will have an interesting summer, to say the least.